PASSED: Cortez Masto, Daines Legislation to Cut Red Tape, Bolster American Hydroelectric Power Production

***VIDEO AVAILABLE*** FTPs for TV stations is available here . Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States Senate passed bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) to increase transparency in the hydropower licensing process. The Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act has passed in the House of Representatives, and it now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. “As costs rise and demand surges, we need to adopt an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to energy. That includes hydropower,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “But right now, bureaucratic delays are causing the relicensing process for hydropower projects to take an average of seven to ten years. Today, Senator Daines and I delivered a solution that will slash red tape and unleash American hydropower.” “This is a huge win for Montana and the entire country. Hydropower is an affordable, reliable source of baseload power that is necessary to meet the growing demand for U.S. energy. This bill will help shed light on much-needed reforms to improve the licensing process and reduce the permitting backlog, and I’m glad to have worked with Senator Cortez Masto to get it through the Senate. Let’s get it signed into law!” said Senator Daines. The Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) regulates 1,600 hydropower projects at over 2,500 dams. These hydroelectric facilities are required to relicense with the FERC every 30 to 50 years. Recently, delays at the FERC have led to the relicensing process taking an average of seven to ten years. According to a Department of Energy report, FERC relicensing activities are expected to more than double in the next ten years. The Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act directs FERC to report annually to Congress on the status of the relicensing process for each application for a renewed hydropower dam license. Representatives Kim Schrier (D-Wash.-09) and Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho-01) led the bill in the House of Representatives. This bill is endorsed by the National Hydropower Association (NHA) and the Nevada Rural Electric Association (NREA). Senator Cortez Masto is a champion of Nevada’s clean energy economy, including hydroelectricity. She recently released $52 million in unused, long-stranded funds for Hoover Dam operations, maintenance, and improvement projects. She has introduced bipartisan legislation to gather information about weaknesses in the electric energy grid, to establish a Critical Minerals Security Alliance, and to accelerate the approval of new clean energy projects. She also is leading a bill package to make electric vehicles and other clean transportation technologies more accessible to consumers throughout the country. ###